為腹不為目，去彼取此。

【例句37】

A meeting of directors may be convened by the Chair of the Board or any two directors at any time and the Secretary General, when directed or authorized by the Chair of the Board or any two directors, shall convene a meeting of directors. Notice of any such meeting shall be served in the manner specified in paragraph 46 of this by-law not less than ninety (90) days (exclusive of the day on which the notice is delivered or sent but inclusive of the day for which notice is given) before the meeting is to take place; provided that a meeting involving urgent matters may be convened on not less than ten (10) days notice (exclusive of the day on which the notice is delivered or sent but inclusive of the day for which notice is given); provided always that a director may in any manner and at any time waive notice of a meeting of directors and attendance of a director at a meeting of directors shall constitute a waiver of notice of the meeting except where a director attends a meeting for the express purpose of objecting to the transaction of any business on the grounds that the meeting is not lawfully called; provided further that meetings of directors may be held at any time without notice if all the directors are present (except where a director attends a meeting for the express purpose of objecting to the transaction of any business on the grounds that the meeting is not lawfully called) or if all of the absent directors waive notice before or after the date of such meeting.

【要點解析】

這段文字包括兩個複合句。第一個複合句就是原文的第一句。第二個複合句較長，我們借助標誌詞provided that，provided always that，provided further that進行解析，把第二個複合句分成四個意群。

（一）

第一個複合句包括並列連詞and引導的兩個簡單句。品味文義，兩個簡單句規定不同的主體召集董事會議的條件。與情態動詞may相對應的shall也是情態動詞，而非助動詞。shall譯成“應當”較妥。

（二）by-law可以譯成“章程細則”。

參見《元照英美法詞典》：bylaws

(1)內部章程

指社團或公司等為內部管理而制定的規章、命令、規則或制度。內部章程確定公司機構中各類職員、組織的權利和義務，規定處理諸如召開會議等日常事務的規則。

(2)地方性法規

該詞有時也用於指地方性法規或市、鎮的市政法規。

（三）not less than 不少於

注意no less than與not less than詞形相近，但語義不同。no less than有兩個義項。第一個義項是used before a number or amount for saying that it is the lowest possible。意思相當於“至少，最低”。

第二個義項是used before a number or amount for showing that it is large and surprising。強調數字或數量之大，意思相當於“竟然達到……之多”。這時no less than後面的數字或數量並非表示至少，而是強調恰好這個數字或數量，但這個數字或數量已經很大了。

參見：https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/no-less-than

（四）exclusive of & inclusive of

原文的意思是應當在舉行會議之前不少於九十天按照章程細則第四十六條指明的方式送達會議通知。這個期間是從召開會議之日倒推計算，也就是說會議召開之日是確定的，送達之日也應該是確定的，這樣才方便計算不少於九十天的期間。發出通知的日期可早可晚，但是必須在某個固定日期送達通知。所以inclusive of 後面的是送達的日期，exclusive of 之後的是發出通知的日期。

（五）deliver, send & give

這三個詞在例句中的用法不夠嚴謹。根據《麥克米倫詞典》的解釋，嚴格地講，give和deliver可以表示“送到”。send僅表示送出。

send的相關義項是to arrange for a message to be delivered to a person by email

⑴ I’ll send you an email with all the details.

⑵ Did you get that message I sent you?

品讀詞典列出的第二個例句，我們可以看出send的意思是發出，不一定送到。

參見：https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/send_1

deliver的相關義項是to give information or documents to someone

⑴ The message was delivered by the Finnish ambassador.

deliver something to someone:

⑵ These records should be delivered to the Registrar at the end of every financial year.

參見：https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/deliver

give的相關義項是to show or communicate information

⑴ If you see him, will you give him a message from me?

⑵ They gave me all the instructions over the phone.

⑶ The answers are given on page 100.

參見：https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/give_1

品讀上面的詞彙及例句，我們可以看出例句的問題主要是表示“發出”通知的用詞不嚴謹。為避免這個問題，我們可以選用動詞issue表示發出通知。

issue: to announce something, or to give something to people officially

例如The banks have issued a warning that charges are likely to rise sharply.

issue something to someone:

例如Summonses have been issued to people who have not paid their bills.

參見：https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/issue_2

（六）連詞provided

provided (或provided that) 是從屬連詞，在法律檔中常常用來引起表示條件的狀語從句。《元照英美法詞典》給provided列出的釋義是“如果；假如；以…為條件；除非”。可見它在不同語境下有不同的含義。在provided與引導從句的連詞that之間有時會嵌入however, always, further等副詞或連詞。要將它和後面的語句結合起來分析判斷，機械地譯成“但前提是……”等字樣並不可取。詳見參考譯文。

《布萊克法律詞典》的解釋有助於我們理解provided的含義。

參見Black’s Law Dictionary (Eighth Edition): provided.  conj. 

1. On the condition or understanding (that) <we will sign the contract provided that you agree to the following conditions>. For the Latin antecedent of this term, see Dummodo.

2. Except (that) <all permittees must be at least 18 years of age, provided that those with a bona fide hardship must be at least 15 years of age>.

3. And <a railway car must be operated by a full crew if it extends for more than 15 continuous miles, provided that a full crew must consist of at least six railway workers>.

（七）on the grounds that  以……為理由

名詞grounds在這裡的意思是“理由，根據”。除on the grounds that引導同位語從句外，還可以構成on the grounds of something的形式。表示有理由做某事，可以使用have grounds to do something。在grounds前面可以添加形容詞，比如用have reasonable grounds to believe something表示有合理的理由相信某事。grounds後面還可以搭配介詞for，比如表示有強有力的理由做某事，可以使用there are strong grounds for (doing) something。

參見Black’s Law Dictionary (Eighth Edition): ground.  n.   The reason or point that something (as a legal claim or argument) relies on for validity <grounds for divorce> <several grounds for appeal>.

ground還可以作為及物動詞，構成be grounded in/on something，表示“以……為根據”。

參見Black’s Law Dictionary (Eighth Edition): ground.  v.t.   1. To provide a basis for (something, e.g., a legal claim or argument) <the decision was grounded on public policy>.  2. To base (something, e.g., a legal principle or judicial decision) on <the court grounded the decision on common law> <strict liability is grounded on public policy>.

（八）for the purpose of doing something

短語for the purpose of doing something（也可以寫作for the purposes of (doing) something或for purposes of (doing) something）在法律檔中常用來表示“為……目的”。

for the express purpose of 的意思是“為……明確目的”。在這裡形容詞express起限定作用，意思是clear and definite。

（九）transaction of business  處理事務

我們經常用到名詞transaction的義項是“交易”。它也有“辦理、處理”的意思。

參見Black’s Law Dictionary (Eighth Edition): transaction.  n.  1. The act or an instance of conducting business or other dealings; esp., the formation, performance, or discharge of a contract.  2. Something performed or carried out; a business agreement or exchange.

（十） absent directors 未到場董事

參見《元照英美法詞典》：absent

(1)不在場的；缺席的

(2)不存在的

【參考譯文】

董事會主席或者任何兩位董事可以隨時召集董事會會議，經董事會主席或者任何兩位董事指令或者授權，秘書長應當召集董事會會議。前述會議的通知應當在召開會議之前至少九十（90）日（不包括通知遞送或者發送之日，但是包括通知送達之日）按照此份章程細則第四十六節規定的方式送達；為處理緊迫事務而召集會議，可以提前至少十（10）日發出通知（不包括通知遞送或者發送之日，但是包括通知送達之日）；董事始終可以以任何方式和在任何時間放棄接收董事會會議通知的權利，除非某位董事出席董事會會議的明確意圖是以會議沒有依法召集為理由，反對處理任何事務，否則該董事出席董事會會議應當構成其放棄接收會議通知的權利；再者，只要全體董事均出席會議（除非某位董事出席會議的明確意圖是以會議沒有合法召集為理由，反對處理任何事務）或者如果全體未到場董事在會議日期之前或者之後放棄接收會議通知的權利，即可不經通知在任何時候舉行董事會會議。